The Interesting Events of the Ouran High School Host Club
A/N: Konnichiwa! Before I go on with the story, I'd like to give a shout-out to Fluffy Tranquil for being my Beta! (even though she knows nothing of Ouran) You rock girl!
I do reply to reviews in the next chapter posted so please read and review, positive or constructive I accept! Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Meeting Ayumi Kotobuki
Haruhi Fujioka panted as she trudged up the last flight of stairs, her legs aching in painful strain.
"Ugh, I don't have time for this," the student groaned as she jogged down the sidewalk. "I'm going to be late for the sale!" The girl was currently in a mad hurry to get to one of her favorite department stores. They were having a sale on clothes and personally she had been dying to get a new dress. Pushing aside her fatigue, she huffed as she turned a corner, breathing a sigh of relief that the store had not opened yet.
"Whew, that was close."
Haruhi walked closer and noticed something odd- nobody was outside the store waiting. Usually if the girl had cut the time any closer, it would have been a mob to get in. Curious, he peered at the door to read the lettering stenciled to the glass.
'Closed due to maintenance- SALE OF THE CENTURY rescheduled to next week. We're sorry for the inconvenience.'
"What?" A drop of sweat trickled down the side of her forehead. "Next week? Great, thanks for nothing..."
Fujioka turned away from the doors with a grumpy look etched on her face. She had been looking forward to this sale all month; she had even ran here from school in her uniform- a dry cleaning bill to add to her debt no doubt. Another wave of sadness rushed over the girl as she was about to leave. Then something caught her eye.
It was a newly opened store, one that wasn't there a few weeks ago. It looked small, quaint- almost boutique-like and immediately Haruhi knew she could never afford anything in the place based on the store-front alone. A frown curled on her lips before her dark brown eyes saw it in the windowsill.
It was the dress. An adorable navy blue number covered in even-sized white polka-dots with short sleeves that puffed out ever so slightly, a neatly folded-down white collar with buttons to match, and a little white belt to define a waist. Haruhi couldn't resist the pull of the garment until her face was near pressed against the window, her breath fogging up the glass.
Her eyes didn't want to look at the price tag, but eventually they saw the number of zeroes and died a bit on the inside.
Yep- too expensive.
It wasn't as if the day was getting any better- the girl tried to pull away but couldn't, her eyes locked onto the dress in the window.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it on at least." Haruhi shrugged as she entered the store, charmed by its rather smaller interior and racks of adorable clothing. A woman folding products nearby looked a bit disturbed when Haruhi pulled the dress off the rack, mumbling something about trannies. Haruhi frowned at the comment but realized now that the boy persona didn't work for her out of school.
She was surprised to see several makings of the dress in her size and then proceeded to find the dressing rooms. They weren't really rooms per say- more like stalls with curtains strung across as cover, but Haruhi didn't mind. She walked past several before she realized there was no way of telling which were currently in use- no signs or markings of any kind.
'Well that's a bit of a design flaw.' Having no other choice, she simply picked a stall and entered it.
She froze once she noticed the space was occupied.
Inside was a girl perhaps the same age as her with black hair that draped across the tips of her shoulders. She was stripped from the waist up, save a simple white bra, and had a magenta colored sweater bundled in her arms as if to slip it on over her head. The girl finally noticed her presence from glancing up at the mirror with lavender-colored eyes, gasping and bringing the sweater up in a lame attempt to cover her body.
"I-I'm sorry but this stall is taken." She said this in a nice way, even with blush dusting her cheeks.
Haruhi had to remember she still looked like a boy in her school uniform before the girl's reaction made sense.
"O-oh, right. I'm sorry." Haruhi proceeded to pull her head back out, still feeling rather embarrassed about the entire situation. It was then her own voice flooded her head- Our Ouran Host Club exists to make girls happy.
Haruhi pursed her lips before she called out, "I'm sorry about that, miss...And for what it's worth, that sweater is a good color on you."
It was then that the curtain retracted to reveal the girl again, this time fully clothed. "Thank you." She smiled warmly before looking down at the dress in Haruhi's arms. "That'll look nice on you too."
Fujioka smiled before finding another dressing room, tucking away inside. It wasn't until then she realized that that girl commented on her looking appealing in a dress, even though she was supposed to look like a boy. Not many people have that kind of acceptance- the lady earlier was testimony to that.
Haruhi smiled. It was nice to know she wasn't being judged by those she didn't judge.
XMaybeYou'reMyLove!X
The next day of school was another rush for our cross-dressing heroine. Apparently her classes were slowly turning into boring lectures. She was having difficulty getting through them without falling asleep and when she went to show up for the Host club…
"So remind me again why you're all dressed up in medieval costumes?" Haruhi sighed.
Upon entering Music Room #3, rose petals revealed the group of high society men dressed in romanticized medieval costumes. Tamaki was a king/prince with a red cloak with a white trim, a ruffled white shirt, tight pants, boots and a golden sparkly crown bedazzled in jewels. Kyōya was dressed as a silver knight, minus the helmet that affected his ability to wear his glasses, with thin chain mail, and breastplates along with leg and arm guards; black gloves allowed him to write away on his binder of notes and observations. Hiraku and Kaoru were young squires, complete with long tunics with deep V-necks barely held together by strings of worn-out leather and a rope belt with dark pants. Honey was an adorable joker of bright colors of red, yellow and green with a matching hat with gold bells that jingled with his every move. Mori was clothed as a mistral, with simple clothes of a long sleeved gray tunic and dark pants.
Overall, they looked the usual oddly charming but completely ridiculous.
"Why, it's for our special clientele," 'Prince' Tamaki explained dotingly. "The ladies of Ouran Academy deserve the royal treatment. We are hear but to serve-" He went off on one of his tangents as Haruhi sighed again, pleading above for patience with this weird club. "-We even got you an outfit, Haruhi!"
When the heroine looked up, the twins had presented her with a package of clothes and were pushing her toward the changing area. With a shove, she was ushered inside with Tamaki's cheery voice ordering her to change.
Following routine, Haruhi stripped and put the clothes on, pausing only when finished to look herself over. Her outfit consisted of a wine colored, long sleeved, fitted shirt under a dark, dove gray corset-vest with matching pants tucked into black knee-high boots with a slight heel. She fidgeted with the high collar on her shirt to look presentable before stepping out to the brightly lit club.
Tamaki saw her first, his cheeks tinting slightly at the sight of the young girl standing there so cutely.
"Well done, Haruhi!" he congratulated her, taking her hand nobly. "You look very handsome."
"Uh, thanks, Tamaki-senpai." The secret hostess smiled as she gently drew her hand back. "Isn't it time to open the club?"
"Ah, that it is. However, we couldn't open without all our members, right?" The blond upperclassman adjusted his crown, slightly upset that he couldn't hold her hand longer.
On schedule, the doors opened with flair and the ladies of Ouran poured in, smitten with the costumed members. As the club progressed, everything passed by smoothly with revenue pouring in and everyone relatively well. It wasn't until the last few women had left that the luck of the club ran out.
It was just about closing time for the club when Haruhi noticed a woman standing cautiously by the door.
"I'm sorry, miss, but we're about to close for today." Haruhi spoke as nicely as possible.
Her statement caused all attention to shift to the door. The club's king waved his hand dramatically. "All ladies are welcome to the Host club; after all what kind of men would we be if we turned women away?" The twins were next to the door like lightning, coaxing the woman with roses to come inside.
The lady looked a bit flustered but gently reclined the floral presents. "Oh, no, I'm not here to be escorted. I'm terribly sorry to bother you all..." The figure walked into the brightness of the sunlit room and Haruhi blinked as she recognized the girl she had bumped into at the boutique a few days prior. She was wearing a yellow school uniform with her black hair tied up in a neat bun and her face dusted lightly with fair makeup. Her smile was soft, but sweet and a faint something Haruhi couldn't explain. "My name is Ayumi Kotobuki. I recently transferred to Ouran and was looking for a club to join."
"I don't know of any position open. What do you think, Mommy?" Tamaki looked thoughtful for a moment, before turning to the club's manager, who stopped writing momentarily.
Kyōya adjusted his glasses with a single digit. "No, at the moment, there is currently no position open for women."
Ayumi looked saddened. "Oh, well, thank you very much for your time." She pivoted on her heel and turned to leave, sighing morosely, muttering something about this being the 'thirteenth time'.
Haruhi felt generally bad for the girl, turning back to the two upperclassmen. "Uh, are you sure Kyōya-senpai? There's absolutely nothing we can give her?"
"Hey, why can't she have what Haru-chan used to have?" Honey asked with enthusiasm.
Haruhi shivered that the thought. "No way- I wouldn't wish that upon my worst enemy."
"Hey, it is an option." The twins spoke simultaneously, shrugging in agreement.
Ayumi, overhearing the commotion, turned around. "Em, what job was it, if I may ask?"
"Oh, Haruhi used to be the club's dog," Tamaki said casually, much to the girl's confusion.
Haruhi sighed and further explained. "I was the errand boy for the club- getting them things they needed from the stores in town."
To the heroine's surprise, Ayumi looked a bit happier when she heard the job description, like it was what she wanted to hear. "Has anyone else taken this spot?"
"Are you serious right now?" Haruhi looked exasperated; no way would any high society girl at Ouran consider doing errands.
Ayumi looked taken aback by her comment, looking away and folding her hands. "If you all would have me..."
"CLUB MEETING!"
The gang of hosts was drawn together in a huddle, heads-dipped down for secrecy as they talked, every now and then looking up to see Ayumi standing there patiently.
"Why are we even talking about this? There's no way any girl of Ouran academy would agree to be an errand girl," Haruhi said calmly, trying to loosen Tamaki's arm from around her waist. The pressure was suffocating her.
"While I admit the notion does seem odd, my main concern is why we're all huddled together like this." Kyōya addressed the cramped conditions of Tamaki's other arm thrown around his neck.
"It is called a huddle- commoners children use it when making decisions," the princely blonde defended enthusiastically. "And if this girl of ours wants a position with the host club, we cannot turn her away. It is our duty to see that this guest is happy and if doing that was as simple as that, it should not be an issue. So, I nominate we offer her the position."
Honey smiled. "We should at least offer- especially since she came to us."
Everyone was in agreement, so the huddle disbanded, giving oxygen back to the lungs of the strangled members. The King of the host club returned his attention to the girl standing before them, her light lavender and silver eyes snapping back as if they had been gazing around the room.
"Mademoiselle Kotobuki, we would like to offer you the position to lend a hand to all members of the club with your services and grace." Tamaki took her delicate hand in pure host style, his words dripping with charm. Fujioka bit her lip from speaking out against his light way of putting what hell she was about to experience. "What do you say, princess?"
Ayumi did not look flustered- this was the first thing Haruhi noticed. Usually with the senpai's closeness, most girls turned beet red and fell to pieces, utterly overwhelmed. However, the look on the present woman's face was almost devoid of emotion-like a wall had gone up. In a split second though, a light smile crossed her lips as she removed her hand from his; bowing respectfully.
"Thank you all very much for the opportunity. I humbly accept it."
The dark brown-haired girl was genuinely surprised; if she was expecting her to accept their offer, it wasn't like this. She made it seem like she was entering an honorable apprenticeship...Wasn't she about to be in for a shock.
XMaybeYou'reMyLove!X
"Mr. Suoh, Mr. and Mrs. Inoue are here to see you now," the secretary for the headmaster off the prestigious establishment informed stoically as the sharply dressed man in white suit attire looked up from his work.
"See them in, please."
She nodded and reappeared with a middle-aged man and woman behind her- both richly dressed with rings and jewels alike. They sat robotically in the set of identical chairs placed in front of the large mahogany desk.
"Mr. and Mrs. Inoue, as head of this establishment, I can assure you both that you that these two women will be quite happy here at Ouran Academy," Yuzuru Suoh reassured the rich looking pair sitting across from his office desk. The man and woman were spaced too far apart to be considered a couple, the loving nature sucked from their eyes. This saddened the patriarch of the school on the inside, his heart going out for the love he could never see again.
"It is not that we are concerned that they will not be happy," the woman, Ms. Inoue, spoke up first. "We are concerned that they will...complicate matters."
Mr. Inoue folded his hands together. "They have no idea of each other's existence. We would like to keep it that way."
"If this is such an important concern, why not send them to different schools?"
It was then that Suoh saw the two cold people look away in different directions, before the woman spoke. "They both wished to come here. It was almost unnatural to hear they both wished to attend the same academy."
"While we have certain wishes, we cannot deny them what they want." The man sighed. "What parents would we be if we did?"
"I understand. I truly do." The school's headmaster nodded somberly.
"We do not understand the regulation process in this system, but we have come to ask that the contact between them be as limited as possible." His tone got serious very quickly. "And we are paying good money to ensure that this small request is withheld."
"Rest assured your requests will be handled by the schools councilors." This seemed to satisfy the two as they thanked the headmaster for his time before taking their leave, making sure to walk in opposite directions to leave the building.
Watching the strained couple leave from their respective, vague cars, the Suoh patriarch bit back a twinge of emotion as he thought of his now ex-wife chosen by his mother for his marriage. He held no grudge against her, for she admitted to never loving him in the first place after their time alone-a mutual agreement about their feelings toward one another established early. He despised seeing two people that were once together being so cold and distant, his natural loving nature dying inside at such a sight.
Truly, wealth did not always equal happiness.